Gareth Bale: Charlie Adam isn’t worth commenting on

Tottenham winger
Gareth Bale is keen to move on from the
Charlie Adam tackle that left him on crutches over the weekend after scoring on his return to action in Spurs’ 2-1 friendly victory over the New York Red Bulls.

Swift recovery: Gareth Bale was back in action against the New York Red Bulls (Picture: Action Images)

Bale was left nursing an ankle injury following a bad tackle by Liverpool midfielder Adam during the pre-season clash between the Premier League rivals in Baltimore on Saturday.

Asked whether he held a grudge against Adam, Bale said: ‘People like that are not worth commenting on. He knows what he’s done wrong himself, so we’ll just leave it.’

Spurs manager Andre Villas-Boas said: ‘The question is, at what point can you arrive in a friendly to let the ball go past you and go into a professional’s ankle the way Charlie did?

‘We responded the way we felt was appropriate – we don’t expect any response, neither are we going to pressure them in any way.’

Scans showed the problem was not as bad as first feared and Bale started on Tuesday night against the Red Bulls, heading home a 58th-minute equaliser to cancel out Kenny Cooper’s early penalty for the hosts before new signing Gylfi Sigurdsson curled in a superb winner.

Wales international Bale was delighted to have made such a swift recovery.

‘I was a bit concerned going out before the game but, then again, I wanted to get my fitness up quicker and get ready for the Premier League season,’ he said.

Villas-Boas, meanwhile, said the club would make a decision on the future of wantaway Croatia playmaker Luka Modric when the team return to the UK.

The Portuguese said: ‘When we get back to London, we’ll give the players some time off.

‘When we return to sessions, we will decide what is best for Luka to do.’